THE AUSSIE WAY

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ( AUSTRALIAN) TIME

Fun facts and tips to make the most of your Australian experience

Before you start your exploration of Australia it might be helpful to get a grasp on the events that have shaped it to date, and the contributions it has made to the world over the years.

CIRCA 50,000BC The first Indigenous Australians arrive on the continent from Southeast Asia.

1770 Captain James Cook anchors The Endeavour and lands at Botany Bay to claim the country for Britain. With the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip the country becomes a penal colony. Convict transportation finally ends in 1868. At the time of European settlement there are up to one million Aboriginal people living across the continent in 500 different clans, or ‘nations’, speaking about 700 languages. The colonization of Australia has a devastating impact on the Indigenous population.

1851 Gold is discovered in Victoria leading to a decade-long gold rush.

1901 Australia becomes a nation under one constitution.

1914 Australia enters the First World War; the April 25, 1915 landing at Gallipoli in Turkey by Australian and New Zealand troops (ANZACs) is commemorated annually.

1948 An immigration scheme from Europe is put into action; 1948 over 30 years more than two million immigrants arrive in Australia, resulting in a thriving multi-cultural society.

1992 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia invents the wireless technology that leads to modern wi-fi.

2003 The Rasmussen brothers co-found a digital mapping start up in Sydney; a year later they sell it to Google and Google Maps is born.

2006 Brisbane-based researchers Professor Ian Frazer and

Dr Jian Zhou develop the world’s fi rst effective anti-cancer vaccine, Gardasil.